A patient that is bedridden for a long period of time often develops bedsores. Bedsores, also known as pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, may develop on parts of the body particularly where the bones are near the skin (for example, the hips, shoulder blades, elbows, and ankles). Treatment of a bedsore requires constant attention from medical personnel, and healing may require a long period of treatment. Bedsores are best prevented by frequent repositioning of a patient to ensure that pressure does not continue to be placed upon one particular area of the body. For those patients that have other ailments, repositioning the patient on the patient's bed can be a very time consuming and difficult task.
A number of inventions have been developed to accommodate repositioning of a bedridden patient for purposes of preventing bedsores, or to reposition the patient for transport or other purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,816 discloses the use of a supplemental sheet which underlies the patient allowing the patient to be lifted by two persons standing on opposite sides of the bed so that the patient may be shifted back to another location on the bed. For those hospital beds of the type which include transversely jointed supports by which the head portion or foot portion can be elevated or lowered, often the patient will slide or shift toward the head or foot of the bed thereby requiring repositioning. Accordingly, the invention disclosed in this reference simply allows repositioning of the patient to the desired location on the bed. The supplemental sheet includes a piece of fabric, and a pair of stiff rods which traverse the opposite sides of the sheet thereby accommodating grasping by the two persons in order to lift the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,813 discloses a draw sheet of substantially frictionless material for use on a bed, to enable the patient to easily slide thereon. This enables the patient to change position more easily.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,597 discloses a mattress pad having a convoluted top surface comprising a repeating pattern of peaks and troughs. The mass of the proximate peaks combine to create an additive effect in supporting the patient's body and the depressions allow for increased air flow between the supporting proximate peaks.
While the foregoing inventions may be adequate for their intended purposes, none of the prior art references disclose an assembly wherein the patient can be selectively relocated on the bed to periodically relieve pressure points which are transmitted to specific areas of the patient's body and wherein the assembly facilitates measurable incremental movement of the patient to best effect repositioning to prevent bedsores or to allow bedsores to better heal.